COEUR
D’ALENE, ID – With the threat of wildfire danger increasing rapidly in northern
Idaho, local land management agencies will implement
Stage 1 Fire Restrictions on all
lands within the Coeur d’Alene Dispatch area beginning at 11:59 p.m. on
August 3, 2017. Fire restrictions are intended to decrease the chance of any
preventable fires in the designated areas.

Stage 1 fire
restrictions will be in effect, until further notice, in the Coeur d’Alene Fire
Restriction Area, which includes all state, federal, and private forestland and
rangeland in Benewah, Bonner, Boundary, Kootenai, Shoshone, and Latah Counties.
This also includes public lands in Washington and Montana that are administered
by the Idaho Panhandle National Forests. These restrictions are being
implemented by agencies managing or providing wildland fire protection in the
area, including the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the Coeur d’Alene Tribe,
Idaho Department of Lands (IDL), the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), and the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS).

Under the Stage 1
Fire Restrictions, the following acts are prohibited on state and federally
managed or protected lands, roads, and trails:

·Building, maintaining, attending, or using a fire,
campfire or stove fire except within
a designated recreation site in a permanent concrete or metal fire ring, or on
their own land, and only within an owner-providedstructure.

·Smoking, except within an enclosed vehicle, building,
or designated recreation site, or while stopped in an area at least three feet
in diameter that is barren or cleared of all flammablematerials.

The following are exemptions to
the Stage 1 Fire Restrictions:

·Firewood cutting restrictions are not in place at this
time. Firewood cutters are reminded to comply with the fire precaution terms
and conditions of theirpermit.

·Persons with a written permit that specifically authorizes the
otherwise prohibitedact.

·Persons using fire fueled solely by liquid petroleum
or liquid petroleum gas (LPG) fuels. Such devices, including propane campfires,
may be used only in an area cleared of flammablematerial.

·Persons conducting activities in those designated
areas where the activity is specifically authorizedby written postednotice.

·Any federal, state or local officer or member of an
organized rescue or firefighting force inthe
performance of an officialduty.

·All land within a city boundary isexempted.

·Other exemptions unique to eachagency.

With the extreme
temperatures the region is experiencing, fire managers are asking the public to
be extra cautious when spending time in the outdoors. As a reminder, fireworks
are prohibited on state and private forestland and rangeland, and on public
lands, roads, and trails in Idaho during closed fire season (May 10 through
October 20). Possession and/or use of fireworks is always prohibited on federal
public lands.